Politicians indignant at new wiretap accusations

Legislators across party lines are expressing growing indignation at revelations of alleged abuse of power by the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office Special Investigation Division (SID) amid calls for SID Prosecutor-General Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘) to resign.

“The SID’s abuse of power and human rights infringement are outrageous. President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] cannot shirk their responsibility and Huang should step down,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said in Greater Taichung yesterday.

“Ma has never respected the Constitution or democracy; now the people see him in his true colors,” Su said.

Former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said in a press release that wiretapping the legislature was a “serious business” and officials involved should be suspended and investigated.

Tsai urged the Legislative Yuan to establish a special committee to probe if Ma had a role in manipulating the judiciary for political wiretapping.

DPP lawmaker Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said the controversy showed the SID should be abolished, adding that he did not rule out proposing slashing the SID’s budget in the legislature.

KMT Spokesman Yin Wei (殷瑋) questioned Su and the DPPs’ handling of Ker’s alleged involvement in the case, calling on the party to stop defending Ker, who has been lobbying in the legislature over his alleged involvement in the Formosa Telecom Investment Co (全民電通) scandal, for its political interests.

“DPP Chairman Su likes to talk about democracy and the establishment of a constitutional government; he should face the fact that Ker is the key in the lobbying case,” he said.

The DPP should not sidestep the issue by focusing criticism at Ma, Yin said. He did not comment on DPP accusations that the SID wiretapped a telephone line in the legislature.

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